Myanmar military loses control of Minbya and major outpost on Bangladesh border

The Arakan Army (AA) has taken control of the northern Rakhine State town of Minbya and a key outpost along the state’s border with Bangladesh, the group said on Tuesday. In a statement, the AA said that two junta bases near Minbya had fallen to its forces, following its capture of the Infantry Battalion (IB) 380 base in late January. “After nearly a month of fighting day and night against the junta army, the AA has finally taken control of the IB 379 and 541 bases in Minbya,” the statement said. “We have taken full control of the military bases in the town. Now we are doing clearance operations on the ground,” AA spokesperson Khaing Thukha told Myanmar Now on Tuesday. The IB 379 base in Minbya was under the command of Vice Senior General Soe Win, the vice chair of the junta that seized power three years ago, from 1998 to 2000. More than 100 people, including junta troops and regime administrators and their families, surrendered to the AA following the capture of Minbya, according to local media outlet Narinjara, citing a source close to the AA. The AA has been fighting the regime in Rakhine State since mid-November, when it started carrying out attacks as part of Operation 1027, an offensive launched by the Brotherhood Alliance in northern Shan State in late October. Although the group’s allies, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, are currently observing a Chinese-brokered ceasefire in areas under their control, the AA continues to clash with the military junta across most of Rakhine State. On Sunday, dozens of junta border police were forced to flee into neighbouring Bangladesh following AA attacks on two border posts near the village of Taungpyo in Maungdaw Township. A video shared on social media by a Bangladeshi media outlet showed the fleeing troops running through a cornfield as gunshots rang out. Some appeared to be injured and had difficulty walking. One of the outposts, Taunpyo Letyar, fell to the AA forces on the same day, while the other, Taunpyo Letwei, was captured on Tuesday, the group said. “On the third day of the attack, the Taungpyo Letwei outpost in Maungdaw, near the Rakhine-Bangladesh border, was seized,” the AA said on Tuesday, adding that more than 200 junta border police had fled into Bangladesh during the three-day offensive. Bangladesh’s home minister, Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, said the border police had been disarmed by Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), the military unit responsible for border security in the country, and would be sent back to Myanmar. A screenshot from a Bangladeshi news broadcast shows Myanmar border guard police in the custody of BGB troops on February 7 (Somoy TV) “They are now in the custody of the BGB and the process is underway to send them back to Myanmar through the foreign ministry, but none should come here,” he said, according to a report by the Dhaka Tribune. There were also reports that the fighting in Maungdaw had injured two people on the Bangladeshi side of the border and forced at least 3,000 locals to flee the area. A camp near the Taungpyo Letwei outpost was poised to begin receiving Rohingya refugees sheltering in overcrowded camps in Bangladesh. In 2017, a total of 700,000 crossed the border to escape “clearance operations” by Myanmar’s military following attacks on border outposts by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army. To date, none have returned due to security concerns. According to the AA, a growing number of junta personnel, including soldiers, police, and civilian administrators, have abandoned their posts since the launch of their offensive. However, no figures were provided. Meanwhile, fighting continues in Mrauk-U, Minbya, and Kyauktaw townships in northern Rakhine, and in Ramree, Ann, and Myebon townships in the southern part of the state. The military has been carrying out airstrikes and artillery attacks on a daily basis in all of these areas, the group said. Roads have also been closed and phone and internet connections have been severed, imposing further hardships on local civilians, according to local sources.

Myanmar military loses control of Minbya and major outpost on Bangladesh border

Hundreds of junta personnel have reportedly surrendered or abandoned their posts in recent days amid Arakan Army advances in northern Rakhine State

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